


If You Give A Mer A Seashell...

by paintedunlady



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: General, Human!Chanyeol, Junmyeon’s Birthday Week 2020, M/M, Mermaids, Nonbinary Character, Nonverbal Communication, light humor, mer!Junmyeon, merfolk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:08:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24414112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paintedunlady/pseuds/paintedunlady
Summary: In which Chanyeol goes to the docks to clear his mind, but accidentally throws a shell at a mermaid instead
Relationships: Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 26
Kudos: 75
Collections: Challenge #2 — Merfolk





	If You Give A Mer A Seashell...

**Author's Note:**

> the title is very loosely based off the book "if you give a mouse a cookie," but where "the mouse" is the one giving the gifts after they are given one. honestly this fic could have easily been 4-5k, but i definitely did not know that when i started it, so there may have been some context left out TT

It starts with a wall of water.

The absent-minded throw of a seashell off the end of the pier somehow leads to a splash of water straight to Chanyeol’s face, leaving him spluttering and waterlogged as he scrabbles to wipe the salt out of his eyes. There’s a man floating just off the dock, screeching and trilling at pitches no human could ever make, and Chanyeol’s jaw drops. It’s no secret that merfolk exist, but Chanyeol certainly never thought  _ he’d _ see one. 

He can barely wrap his head around it before the chittering stops and the shell is hurled back at him, thunking against his shoulder and dropping into the water with a  _ plunk _ . With a final shriek, the mer dives back into the water, brilliant blue tail launching another wave at Chanyeol and leaving him dumbstruck and soaking wet as it darts out of sight. 

\---

He finds himself back at the same dock the next day- this time watching. Waiting. 

He waits for hours, nose almost to the water as he scouts for any sign of blue scales among schools of pinfish and seaweed, but nothing comes. Not even a crab scuttles by, and as the sun kisses the horizon, Chanyeol decides to give up. It's disappointing, but at least he gets a nice sunset for his effort. 

He gets his phone out to take a picture, but as soon as it’s freed from his pocket, it slips from his hand and smacks against the dock with a crack. The phone thankfully remains on dry land, but the holding ring on the back launches right off and into the water.

He scrabbles to get the phone back before it falls too, and though it  _ could _ be worse, Chanyeol still sulks over the web of cracks cutting through the screen. A distinct rustle of water snaps him out of it and when he lifts his head, a familiar pair of brown eyes and sparkling blue scales pops into view. There’s a thick ring in the mer’s webbed hand that sparkles as it treads the surface, and Chanyeol’s lips twist into a smile. 

“You brought it back!” he cries. He reaches his hand out to retrieve the ring, but the mer stares at it, decidedly Unimpressed. 

“Um... Thank you for bringing it back?” he tries again, but the mer twists away from his hand. A third attempt- the mer clutches the ring to their chest and Chanyeol swears he sees them  _ pout _ .

The mer finally unravels as Chanyeol withdraws his hand, brandishing the holder at the surface once again. It’s honestly just a cheap thing from a convenience store, but the mer holds it delicately and inspects it like a fine gem. 

After several moments of consideration, the mer turns to the side, gaze sliding over to Chanyeol to not-quite look at him and chirping softly.

“You’re… welcome?” Chanyeol says, and in a flash the mer is gone, tail flicking out of the water, but this time Chanyeol goes home dry. 

\----

The next time, it’s the mer waiting for Chanyeol. There's no chittering this time, just a silent, almost expectant stare as they bob up and down with the tide.

Chanyeol waves a hand as he kneels, grinning and curling in on himself to look as unthreatening as possible.

The mer's eyes flicker down to Chanyeol's empty hand and back up- once, twice. 

"...What?" 

Apparently, it's the wrong question. Without warning the mer spits a stream of water at Chanyeol’s face, huffing and slapping their tail against the surface before disappearing once more. 

Much like the first encounter, Chanyeol is left on the dock soaking wet and confused. 

\--

A week later, there’s a bottlecap sitting in a small puddle where Chanyeol normally sits. The mer is already there, floating idly and pointedly looking everywhere  _ but _ Chanyeol. It’s a fairly new bottlecap, only a few dots of rust along the edges and logo still intact. He catches the mer watching him as he inspects it, but as soon as he looks up, the mer’s gaze darts away. 

Ah. So that’s the game. 

The visits continue much like this, Chanyeol finding some small trinket on the dock and the mer lounging among the minnows when he gets there. It’s an odd collection of things: rocks, soda tabs, clumps of seaweed, a potato?, and the occasional bobby pin. Even if he doesn’t quite get it and the seaweed sometimes leaves a sticky mess on his hands, Chanyeol supposes there are worse things to be given. 

The mer stays longer each time too, “not watching” him for the first few minutes and floating around in a feigned semblance of nonchalance. They get progressively bolder, deliberately stretching their tail out to present their glittering scales and slowly fluttering their tailfin as they steal little glances to make sure Chanyeol is watching. 

He tries to play along with the mer’s little game, ignoring the blatant displays like there isn’t a gorgeous, rare creature right in front of him, but the mer always ends the act with a pout, lowering their mouth just below the surface to blow bubbles at him and sulk. 

Soon Chanyeol finds  _ two _ bottlecaps when he comes to the dock-  _ thicker _ clumps of seaweed,  _ clams _ instead of rocks. But as Chanyeol continues to ignore it, the annoyed huffs get more prominent, the bubbles even  _ more _ sulky. 

There’s not much known about mers, even less that’s credible, but Chanyeol turns to the library for anything he can find. It takes hours, but finally a title catches his eye.

“ _ If You Give A Mer A Seashell… _ ”

It starts with general information about merfolk, what they look like, myths and legends, then finally: “ _ Gifts _ .” 

Chanyeol’s heart leaps when he spots a bullet pointed list and reads aloud. “Bottlecaps, bobby pins, certain seaweeds, rings, rocks, anything a mer may suspect a human would like or could use…” It’s too perfect, he thinks, and almost bolts to the checkout counter when he notices the list’s heading.

“....... _ Courting gifts? _ ?”

**Author's Note:**

> this!! is!! a big deal for me!! it may not be my best, but this is only the second thing i have been able to write for literally YEARS and! the first fest i've ever done! i've had an extremely hard time with starting AND finishing things, but i love merfics and felt so inspired to write for this. i can't thank the mods enough for their patience with me and for hosting this wonderful fest!
> 
> i might... expand on this because i had a lot more ideas for it and plopped a lot of them in a separate doc when i shaved things off for word count >>


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